The Flu
The hospitalization rate for the week 3 of this year (ending January 19, 2013) is about 22.2/100,000. Last year at the same time it was 0.7 / 100,000. In 2011 the rate at the same time was 6/100,000. The rate in 2010 was 27.3. That winter was the worse one. The flu started early and the rate was 24/100,000 way back in November.
Quote: vert1276if it's not worst than 1918...its not "worse than ever"
The pre antibiotic flu outbreak of 1918 was terrifying,
it killed millions worldwide. Young and old. Hemingway
lived in fear of the flu all his life, he was 19 in 1918
and two of his friends died from it.
Quote: boymimboThe rate in 2010 was 27.3. That winter was the worse one. The flu started early and the rate was 24/100,000 way back in November.
Only time I have had the flu in 20+ years. Got it from my former boss in early November 2009 because the ass is a workaholic and thought he was okay enough to come to work. Most of my co-workers got it too. It didn't last too long for me, but it was some of the worst 48 hours of my life. And had to burn tickets to an Auburn football game because of it. :(
. CDC Report Finds Norovirus Outbreak In US Has Taken A Stronghold, Cases Rising
I got something right after Christmas. A fever came out of nowhere one afternoon and I was down for the count for the next 3 days but had no other symptoms. No coughing, no sneezing, no congestion, no nausea. Once the fever broke I had a stuffy nose for 3 days and when that went away my lungs got into the act and for the next several days I couldn't walk more than 10 feet without gasping for air (I have breathing problems anyway, but never this bad), and still no other symptoms. It was almost 3 weeks from the time everything started before I could say I felt completely normal again.
I don't know what it was, if it even has a name, but I do not want to get it ever again.
Quote: MoscaThere is also a bad norovirus going around now, which is getting mistaken for the flu. The flu lasts 7-10 days, the norovirus 3 days typical. This season's norovirus is pretty virulent, and the symptoms are more severe than is common for a norovirus.
. CDC Report Finds Norovirus Outbreak In US Has Taken A Stronghold, Cases Rising
This is were proper reporting comes in. One doctor at at a local clinic calls EVERYTHING the flu, or at least treats in that way, and never tests. Another one tests every patient and there is accuracy in his reporting.
Every bug we get during the winter is not the "flu"...there are a lot of things called the flu that are really just viruses, etc. of other kinds.
Of course, they all suck when you have them!!
EvenBob mentions the 1918 pandemic as pre-antibiotic; although antibiotics are not effective against viruses, most fatalities in that pandemic were from pneumonias: either a primary viral pneumonia, or an opportunistic secondary bacterial pneumonia. Antibiotic would have helped control the bacterial infections.
Mortality estimates for the 1918 pandemic are as high as 20%; about a third of the world's population was infected, so as much as 6% of humanity died. Current estimates are 50 to 100 million.
I'll be staying at the Flamingo for Super Bowl weekend, maybe I can catch me some of their legendary norovirus and lose some poundage.Quote: kewljI was down earlier this week for 4 days. Thought it was the flu, but after reading this thread, perhaps the norovirus. Whichever, I can tell you is was pretty nasty. And when I emerged, it was like I had a makeover. Lost 5 pounds and had some ripped abs from all the vomiting. The 'flu makeover'. My playing partner and associate, is currently is down. I think frequent casino patrons are at great risk. Table game players that handle chips particularly as well as machine players that hit those buttons hit by a hundred other folks. Don't get me started about the dangers of the buffet. :-(
for 10 days. Got antibiotics cause it turned to pneumonia.
The worst is feeling so out of it you can't function. Its a
month later and I still have a few mild coughing fits in
the day.
Quote: kewljI was down earlier this week for 4 days. Thought it was the flu, but after reading this thread, perhaps the norovirus. Whichever, I can tell you is was pretty nasty. And when I emerged, it was like I had a makeover. Lost 5 pounds and had some ripped abs from all the vomiting. The 'flu makeover'. My playing partner and associate, is currently is down. I think frequent casino patrons are at great risk. Table game players that handle chips particularly as well as machine players that hit those buttons hit by a hundred other folks. Don't get me started about the dangers of the buffet. :-(
The flu is only transmitted by touch; the norovirus is called "the Ferrari of viruses" because it can also be transmitted through the air, and it spreads very quickly. Yes, I would think casino patrons would be at great risk!
Quote: MoscaThe flu is only transmitted by touch; the norovirus is called "the Ferrari of viruses" because it can also be transmitted through the air, and it spreads very quickly. Yes, I would think casino patrons would be at great risk!
I hadn't been in a casino for a month and 5 days before I
got sick we went for my wifes Bday. I know there was a
link, so many people were coughing. I only go to the
store when I have to, about every 10 days.
If you cough a lot, call the doc and have them phone
in a scrip for antibiotics to the pharmacy. Do not
got to the doc office, everybody there will be sick and
you don't need to go, all he will do is give you a scrip
anyway.
Quote: EvenBobI hadn't been in a casino for a month and 5 days before I
got sick we went for my wifes Bday. I know there was a
link, so many people were coughing. I only go to the
store when I have to, about every 10 days.
If you cough a lot, call the doc and have them phone
in a scrip for antibiotics to the pharmacy. Do not
got to the doc office, everybody there will be sick and
you don't need to go, all he will do is give you a scrip
anyway.
Antibiotics are ineffective against viruses, and over prescription is a major factor in the evolution of antibiotic resistant viruses, along with not finishing the prescribed regimen when they are properly prescribed. A better choice is cough suppressants and isolation.
There is no sure thing way to avoid getting sick, but it's up to each of us to protect ourselves the best we can. When I look around and see all the stupid things people do by pretending they're immune when they're out in public, I'm mortified. Casinos have probably the worst offenders. We were invited to a Super Bowl party at a casino with the free this and free that and I immediately threw the invitation into the trash.
Quote: ahiromuA friend and I both had the norovirus, what a horrible little thing. Lasted less than a day though.
That's probably what I had in 2009, it didn't last very long, but sucked while I had it.
When the CDC recommends the flu shot, get it!
-Keyser
Quote: iluvdisco33There is no sure thing way to avoid getting sick, but it's up to each of us to protect ourselves the best we can. When I look around and see all the stupid things people do by pretending they're immune when they're out in public, I'm mortified. Casinos have probably the worst offenders. We were invited to a Super Bowl party at a casino with the free this and free that and I immediately threw the invitation into the trash.
I don't think I could possibly get more opposite than you. I consider “hand sanitizer” the biggest fraud since bottled water. I don’t wash produce before eating it, I eat food I’ve dropped, I drink crick water. About the only time I wash my hands is when they’re covered with something that’ll ruin stuff, like grease (chicken, bacon, axle). My kid is young and learning, and I couldn’t count the times he’s coughed or sneezed directly into my mouth. My main fishing spot is a Superfund site, my secondary spot is the sewage treatment plant dump out.
And I work in a casino. Sure, it’s gross, but there’s so much out there I can hardly be bothered to worry. I’ll be a gent and stay home if I’m sick, but it never happens. I refuse to get a flu shot and ain’t had it in 20+ years. This year’s strain wiped out my best friend's entire family including him. I had him at my house every day during that time and didn’t suffer so much as a gurgle. Some of the guys on my hockey team got it too, and I share water bottles with those guys.
I subscribe to the Carlin school of medicine. Warm chicken, raw eggs, undercooked pork, bring it on =p
Quote: KeyserWhen the CDC recommends the flu shot, get it!
Nah. I put a lot of energy into this immune system of mine, might as well get some miles out of it =)
Quote: KeyserMany of us catch the flu far more frequently than we realize. Often times we simply don't notice it, or we believe it to be a common cold. Only when it turns into something worse do we sometimes realize that we have, indeed, caught the flu.
When the CDC recommends the flu shot, get it!
-Keyser
I don't get what the flu shot is all about? Seems like a lot of hype to me. I don't get a flu shot as I am a young man. I share a residence with my playing partner and associate who is 20 years older than me. He did get a flu shot at the recommendation of his doctor. Didn't seem to matter, what ever this illness is, we both came down with it. Me, early last week and he is currently being hit just as hard. Now I realize this may not be the flu, may be some kind of norovirus. I also know that their are different strains of flu and the flu shot only protects against one. So it doesn't seem to me the flu shot is worth all that much. ???
If you have gambled with somone, then you have also gambled with everyone they have ever gambled with. Sanitize the chips and buttons!
Quote: PaigowdanCasinos, public transportation, malls, etc. are viral petri dishes.
If you have gambled with someone, then you have also gambled with everyone they have ever gambled with. Sanitize the chips and buttons!
I rarely cash out at the completion of a session, for reasons that I am sure are obvious to you Dan. So, I not only handle chips frequently, but I bring them home with me and cash in at a later date. Maybe this is my "Dan's World" penalty for my behavior. lol
Quote: kewljI don't get what the flu shot is all about? Seems like a lot of hype to me. I don't get a flu shot as I am a young man. I share a residence with my playing partner and associate who is 20 years older than me. He did get a flu shot at the recommendation of his doctor. Didn't seem to matter, what ever this illness is, we both came down with it. Me, early last week and he is currently being hit just as hard. Now I realize this may not be the flu, may be some kind of norovirus. I also know that their are different strains of flu and the flu shot only protects against one. So it doesn't seem to me the flu shot is worth all that much. ???
The flu shot is a cocktail protects you against 5 or 6 strains of the flu. The problem is that they have to decide in the summer, when production starts, what are the most likely strains to be around in the winter to include in the shot. This obviously is not an exact science. A flu shot also helps because it can give you some protection against a closely related strain to what was in the cocktail. This doesn't necessarily keep you from getting sick but it can reduce the length and severtity of the disease.
The commonly accepted number is you contract the flu 65% less compared to a person without the shot. That percentage of reduction is well worth it in my opinion and have been getting flu shots for 10 years. In that time I have not had a serious bout of the flu and no days where I was feeling bad enough to change my normal daily routine.
Quote: kewljI don't get what the flu shot is all about? Seems like a lot of hype to me. I don't get a flu shot as I am a young man. I share a residence with my playing partner and associate who is 20 years older than me. He did get a flu shot at the recommendation of his doctor. Didn't seem to matter, what ever this illness is, we both came down with it. Me, early last week and he is currently being hit just as hard. Now I realize this may not be the flu, may be some kind of norovirus. I also know that their are different strains of flu and the flu shot only protects against one. So it doesn't seem to me the flu shot is worth all that much. ???
The flu shot is only between 60-67% effective in preventing the flu in any given season. The reason for that is doctors have to guess which strains of the flu to include in the antibodies that make up the shot. If I recall correctly they can cram 2 or 3 different antibodies in the shot. So if the powers that be, guess wrong, the shot will be less effective than normal. I heard a woman from the CDC on the radio the other day saying they guessed wrong this year and the flu shot is maybe only preventing about 50% of cases. So a bad year. It's still a very cost effective way to reduce your odds of getting sick. It's often less than $20..or even free sometimes through local clinics or health departments. So sorry you and your partner both got the flu...but the flu shot is still a good idea.
Edit: I didn't see the post above this we must have been both typing at the same time...but what he said.
Quote: tringlomaneThat's probably what I had in 2009, it didn't last very long, but sucked while I had it.
The vast majority of pnumonia is caused by a
bacterial infection and I got the 5 day
dose of antibio and it got better by the 2nd
day. You take 2 the first day and 1 for the
next 4 days. It worked wonders.
Quote: FaceI don't think I could possibly get more opposite than you. I consider “hand sanitizer” the biggest fraud since bottled water. I don’t wash produce before eating it, I eat food I’ve dropped, I drink crick water. About the only time I wash my hands is when they’re covered with something that’ll ruin stuff, like grease (chicken, bacon, axle). My kid is young and learning, and I couldn’t count the times he’s coughed or sneezed directly into my mouth. My main fishing spot is a Superfund site, my secondary spot is the sewage treatment plant dump out.
And I work in a casino. Sure, it’s gross, but there’s so much out there I can hardly be bothered to worry.....
Ha! Too funny. I'm exactly the same way. Except for one thing...washing my hands thoroughly with soap after spending a few hours at the poker table. I made the mistake one time of scratching my eye with a finger when leaving a room and won't do that again! Nasty! And I notice no casinos in Las Vegas have doors on the bathrooms anymore, but I can't imagine being so anal that I'd use a paper towel to open one. Our bodies are more resilient than our mommies told us.
I read an article on hotel/restaurant cleanliness that stated lemon wedges were the filthiest thing in the place, followed by salt-n-pepper shakers, placemats/tablecloths, breadbaskets, elevator buttons, TV remotes, bedding/quilts, and on and on. I regularly eat with a remote in my hand, and find myself absent-mindedly chewing on the end of it later on. I'd eat a cashew that's been on the rug a few days, but prolly not a shrimp that fell under the fridge. But that's where I draw the line. I've had the flu a couple times and got through it, and I'm not about to alter my lifestyle in fear of something we all go through once in a while.
I just got a pneumonia vaccine. I didn't even know there was one until I went into the pharmacy for the flu vaccine. So I got both.Quote: EvenBobThe vast majority of pnumonia is caused by a
bacterial infection and I got the 5 day
dose of antibio and it got better by the 2nd
day. You take 2 the first day and 1 for the
next 4 days. It worked wonders.
Quote: zippyboyHa! Too funny. I'm exactly the same way.
Oh man, you gotta try under-fridge shrimp! It’s to die for (perhaps literally ;)) Kidding, of course.
I have to think that one of us are going to end up killing us all, I’m just not sure who the jerks are. Is it us dirt bags, who act as petri dishes hosting god knows how many pathogens and spreading them to our weaker neighbors, or is it the germaphobes who by their incessant sanitation and antibiotic use are encouraging the mutation of the superbugs?
I wonder if any studies have been done…
Quote: kewljI don't get what the flu shot is all about? Seems like a lot of hype to me. I don't get a flu shot as I am a young man.
Ironically, some of 1918 flu took out a lot of healthy young people precisely because their immune systems reacted so vigrously to that virus. Sometimes your body can tear itself up trying to defend itself if it encounters the right organism. Perhaps a comparison is similar to a cough, where you simply injest something not too toxic and the body rejects and you cough until you get it out, versus coughing violently non-stop until you can't breathe or the cough itself feels as if it might kill you. Or the body amps up in fever, except it goes so high it damages the body/brain.
Usually, the flu is more dangerous with weak or undeveloped immune systems rather than healthy young people. But still, the best method is pre-exposure to a weak or dead virus, or something that will generate the specific antibodies whether you're young and healthy or ancient and weak.
I didn't say, but when I do stay at hotels, I never use the remote until I wipe it down with wet wipes. Putting that germ laden thing into your mouth is dopey, dumb, and I can't remember how many times my wife and I found it underneath us after sex just before departing in the morning, leaving it with a certain crustiness for the next guest. Chomp away.
Quote: tsmithI have never had the flu so I have never bothered to get a flu shot, but this year ...
I got something right after Christmas. A fever came out of nowhere one afternoon and I was down for the count for the next 3 days but had no other symptoms. No coughing, no sneezing, no congestion, no nausea. Once the fever broke I had a stuffy nose for 3 days and when that went away my lungs got into the act and for the next several days I couldn't walk more than 10 feet without gasping for air (I have breathing problems anyway, but never this bad), and still no other symptoms. It was almost 3 weeks from the time everything started before I could say I felt completely normal again.
I don't know what it was, if it even has a name, but I do not want to get it ever again.
My wife and I came down with this same thing. I am fairly certain I contracted it in the airplane back from Vegas.
My deviation from your symptoms was I got a nasty congestion cough which I had for 18 days.
Quote: rxwineIronically, some of 1918 flu took out a lot of healthy young people precisely because their immune systems reacted so vigrously to that virus. Sometimes your body can tear itself up trying to defend itself if it encounters the right organism. Perhaps a comparison is similar to a cough, where you simply injest something not too toxic and the body rejects and you cough until you get it out, versus coughing violently non-stop until you can't breathe or the cough itself feels as if it might kill you. Or the body amps up in fever, except it goes so high it damages the body/brain.
Usually, the flu is more dangerous with weak or undeveloped immune systems rather than healthy young people. But still, the best method is pre-exposure to a weak or dead virus, or something that will generate the specific antibodies whether you're young and healthy or ancient and weak.
Many of them died from this: it is called a cytokine storm. I've read a few books about that pandemic.
Quote: iluvdisco33That and other sanitizers have been scientifically tested and proven not to kill all bacteria, but most.
Heh, speaking of santizers, one thing I often see people do is slap the underneath side of those electric auto-dispense sanitizers as opposed to just waving their hand under it.
Now if you want to touch something probably really dirty just before squirting sanitizer on your hands that's probably a good way to do it.
I realize sometimes they don't seem to want to work, but I'd rather not use it at all if waving my hand under it won't work.
Quote: iluvdisco33There's always going to be people who scoff at responsible hygienic habits out of immaturity and trying to show off. Purell etc. aren't just a pretend application.That and other sanitizers have been scientifically tested and proven not to kill all bacteria, but most. Anyone who doesn't want that to be true either isn't interested in being knowledgeable, or can't afford the products.
I don't doubt that such products kill stuff, in fact, I'm certain of it. But a hand's entire purpose is to touch and grasp, and you can't sanitize everything. I find it to be much too much work trying avoid every little icky yucky. The world is completely disgusting, and a little bottle of gelatinous alcohol seems silly to me. By all means, feel free to use it. I do like the smell when someone walks by.
It's kind of odd you think that me being a dirt bag is my attempt to show off. I just find it curious, something worth discussing, as we have here before. I drink 10s of gallons of crick water a year, water that's ran off farmer's fields filled with natural manure and chemicals, through rotting deer carcasses, passed the water treatment plant... eat all manner of ill prepared and expired food... how in 20+ years have I never had a GI issue, never gotten one parasite? I can't be that lucky, so what is the reason? I think it's an interesting topic.
On immaturity, this thought from my immature child's mind some 15 odd years ago completely cured me of caring about ickiness - Remember that nasty slob you just walked passed? He just took a breath. The oxygen in that breath was absorbed into his blood and pumped everywhere. His nasty pits. His hairy feet. Into every conceivable crevice in every part of his nether regions. And some of that oxygen didn't get used. It got pumped right back into his lungs and came out his mouth! And you walked by and breathed it in! That O2 molecule that was just in his bowel was just used by your body to make a protein chain that repaired a damaged cell on your tongue!
Poof! Cured instantly =) Your crease grease on the hotel remote is nothing comared to the bowel O2 that's now my tongue XD
Quote: FaceI don't doubt that such products kill stuff, in fact, I'm certain of it. But a hand's entire purpose is to touch and grasp, and you can't sanitize everything. I find it to be much too much work trying avoid every little icky yucky. The world is completely disgusting, and a little bottle of gelatinous alcohol seems silly to me. By all means, feel free to use it. I do like the smell when someone walks by.
It's kind of odd you think that me being a dirt bag is my attempt to show off. I just find it curious, something worth discussing, as we have here before. I drink 10s of gallons of crick water a year, water that's ran off farmer's fields filled with natural manure and chemicals, through rotting deer carcasses, passed the water treatment plant... eat all manner of ill prepared and expired food... how in 20+ years have I never had a GI issue, never gotten one parasite? I can't be that lucky, so what is the reason? I think it's an interesting topic.
On immaturity, this thought from my immature child's mind some 15 odd years ago completely cured me of caring about ickiness - Remember that nasty slob you just walked passed? He just took a breath. The oxygen in that breath was absorbed into his blood and pumped everywhere. His nasty pits. His hairy feet. Into every conceivable crevice in every part of his nether regions. And some of that oxygen didn't get used. It got pumped right back into his lungs and came out his mouth! And you walked by and breathed it in! That O2 molecule that was just in his bowel was just used by your body to make a protein chain that repaired a damaged cell on your tongue!
Poof! Cured instantly =) Your crease grease on the hotel remote is nothing comared to the bowel O2 that's now my tongue XD
You`re a foul one, Mr. Face,
You`re a nasty wasty skunk,
Your heart is full of unwashed socks, your soul is full of gunk, Mr. Face,
The three words that best describe you are as follows, and I quote,
Stink, stank, stunk.
Lol, you know some folks just have more resistance to illness and germs. It isn't because they eat healthy or build up their immune systems or really about anything they do or don't do. It's just the way it is. I would consider yourself fortunate that you fall into this category, but geez, I wouldn't temp it or test it. lol
Edit: I guess I should mention, just in case anyone doesn't recognize...the lyrics above are from the grinch song.
Quote: Face... how in 20+ years have I never had a GI issue, never gotten one parasite?
Oh you're probably full of guinea worms, Face. ; )
(the best thing about that link is you can count em off like in Seseme Street)
Quote: iluvdisco33There's always going to be people who scoff at responsible hygienic habits out of immaturity and trying to show off. Purell etc. aren't just a pretend application.
I didn't say, but when I do stay at hotels, I never use the remote until I wipe it down with wet wipes. Putting that germ laden thing into your mouth is dopey, dumb, and I can't remember how many times my wife and I found it underneath us after sex just before departing in the morning, leaving it with a certain crustiness for the next guest. Chomp away.
I'm not scoffing at hygienic measures. Life is full of toxins, you can embrace them or fear them, but we all have to deal with them. I've been fortunate enough not to be sick throughout my life so I'm not fearing my daily bacterial encounters. I also purposely ingested so many drugs back in the 80's and 90's, I got the idea that my body was invincible whether true or not, I must be doing something right despite all the coke, meth, ecstacy, LSD, pot, booze, pills etc that I did, and I'm still here, relatively healthy. Life just isn't fair for the people who can't do this I guess. I'm sure in the 40+ years you've been here, you feel you have you use a napkin to hold a salt shaker in a restaurant, and I don't. I play poker with world travellers who carry diseases and never care that much. Life isn't fair, I guess. Perhaps the answer is to not sequester yourself from the daily viruses and such, so you don't be so fearful. Survival of the fittest.
Quote: MoosetonWhile I'm pleased with the responses, I am still wondering if this year's flu being "worse than ever" (according to fricking yahoo news) is just hype. I just don't believe yahoo news; it is like it sounds, news for any yahoo willing to believe it.
5 or 6 days ago, I was convinced it was the worse flu ever. lol Now a few days on this side of it. Who knows....maybe not worst ever. But it IS pretty nasty.
Quote: FaceI drink 10s of gallons of crick water a year, water that's ran off farmer's fields filled with natural manure and chemicals, through rotting deer carcasses, passed the water treatment plant... eat all manner of ill prepared and expired food... how in 20+ years have I never had a GI issue, never gotten one parasite?
You're used to, you have a strong immune system.
If we were to go back and visit the middle ages,
we'd be dead in a week. They had iron immune
systems from being around filth all the time. Not
to everything, but certainly to most of it.
Quote: rxwineOh you're probably full of guinea worms, Face. ; )
Remember that show "Monsters Inside Me"? I could never watch it for this very reason. Same with the snowboarder/skater/ATVer stuff where legs and arms turn the wrong way. I don't mind blood and guts, but I have a hard time watching what could happen doing the things that I often do ><
Quote: Face
Remember that show "Monsters Inside Me"? I could never watch it for this very reason.
You never got giardia from stream water, Face?
Quote: EvenBobYou never got giardia from stream water, Face?
I had to Google it. Should've just said "beaver fever", would've saved me some typing ;)
No, never. At least I highly doubt it. The only time I ever had issues was years ago, maybe '92-'96 (ages 12-16) when visiting Chautauqua Lake, down where your daughter lives. Everytime I went there, I always got bubble gut. Never severe, none of the vomiting, explosive diarrhea, intense stomach pain normally assosiated with beaver fever, but I do suspect it was caused by the water because it happened every single time I visited. I never drank the lake, but swimming, tubing, jetskiing, I obviously ingested some. And Chautauqua is heavily developed and was kind of bad pollution-wise back in the day, so I just assumed it was the water. I don't know what it was, but it wouldn't even knock me out for the day.
Since those days I still go, been going several times a year these past summers. Still swim, still fish without washing hands, but I don't have the problems now that I did back then. My home waters I never once had problems with. I don't drink ponds, puddles, or mid-summer streams that have slowed to a crawl, at least not unless I'm dying and home is hours away. I also don't drink Erie or Chautauqua because it's easy to throw a cooler in the boat. But when I hike and fish, some 30+ times a year, the crick is all I drink. And as far as I can tell, I'm right as rain.
The flu is easily differentiable from the cold, because of the body aches, fever and chills/sweats that is not part of a "cold" and the general malaise that just knocks you on your ass.
As for Face, I've always believed that a little bit of uncleanliness goes along way for your immune system. Like vaccines that immunize you by giving you small amounts of what harms you to get your immune system to beef itself up, you get natural immunity by exposing yourself to small amounts of harmful bacteria and viruses.
The only time I use the antibacterial stuff is when I visit a hospital or doctor's office. I wash my hands regularly at home when handling raw meat and after using the washroom.
Quote: iluvdisco33Purell etc. aren't just a pretend application.That and other sanitizers have been scientifically tested and proven not to kill all bacteria, but most.
"Purell contains approximately 60 percent to 95 percent alcohol, depending on the product. Any less can prove ineffective at eliminating 99.9 percent of germs. This sanitizer contains the chemicals ethanol and isopropanol. A moisturizer is often added to negate the skin-drying characteristics of these chemicals. The alcohol in the gel solution works almost instantaneously on contact to kill almost all bacteria with which it comes in contact. The antibacterial effects of alcohol work by changing the proteins in the microbial organisms. However, the presence of any other physical proteins or lipids on dirty hands can significantly decrease the overall effectiveness of the alcohol used.
"Once this alcohol comes in contact with the skin, the gel eliminates the outer layer of oil on the skin. Consequently, it eradicates any microbial activity that may be present within that oily medium on the surface of the hands. Once these surface microorganisms have been eliminated, bacteria begin to grow back. This is due to the fact that unlike washing, hand sanitizers don't actually remove bacteria but render them inoperative for a set period. Bacteria that may reside below the surface may also re-emerge to the surface. Because of this, Purell hand sanitizers are not viewed as a permanent alternative to washing with soap and water. They work well in supplementing the killing of bacteria between washes but should not be solely relied upon for clean hands." How Purell Works
Quote: iluvdisco33Purell etc. aren't just a pretend application.That and other sanitizers have been scientifically tested and proven not to kill all bacteria, but most.
http://www.gocomics.com/bc/2013/01/28
Quote: MoosetonWhile I'm pleased with the responses, I am still wondering if this year's flu being "worse than ever" (according to fricking yahoo news) is just hype. I just don't believe yahoo news; it is like it sounds, news for any yahoo willing to believe it.
If Yahoo news said the sky was blue...I'd look outside to verify.
